Crossing Over to Yamada Love

"Sister, what do you need so much cattail fluff for? You just want to help Gousheng and his brother, but isn't this going too far? How much cattail fluff do we collect every year?" Sanlang asked his sister on the way back.

"Silly boy, I'm not going to just pile them up here after I collect them. Of course I have a use for them," Mo Lan said with a smile, patting Sanlang's head.

"What's it for? Tell me, sis." Sanlang adored his older sister. She called him "little fool," but he didn't mind; in fact, he found it endearing. His sister truly cared for him.

"Calla fuzz is very soft and heavy, so it would be quite heavy to make a cotton-padded jacket. But it can be made into pillows. A pillow can be placed on a heated brick bed, and no matter how heavy it is, it doesn't matter as long as it's comfortable. These soft pillows will be very comfortable. In addition, they can be made into cushions, chair cushions, and bolsters. If we use some good fabric for the cover, and if we can embroider some exquisite flowers, we won't have to worry about selling them for a good price." Mo Lan said out her plan.

The pillows here are hard, and I'm not used to them. Poorer families don't even have pillows; they just use tattered clothes or something similar as a mattress. They're very uncomfortable. Mo Lan's pillow is just a sewn-on cloth cover with an old cotton-padded jacket inside. Compared to modern pillows, it's much more uncomfortable.

Cotton won't work. Cotton is hard to compress, but cattail fluff is different. It's very soft after being pounded and can be compressed. It's great for making pillows and cushions, and she believes it will be very popular.

"Sister, you're amazing! How come you're so smart? If only I were like you, I'd definitely be able to achieve fame and become a high-ranking official." Sanlang looked at his sister with admiration.

"Ha, my third son is much smarter than me. Sister's cleverness is just a little bit, but third son has great wisdom. I believe third son will definitely be successful in the future." Mo Lan smiled lovingly. She also doted on her youngest brother. In her heart, she always treated her third son like a child.

Sanlang gave Molan a big smile. He was very happy that his sister was praising him.

The two returned home to find dinner already prepared. Mo Lan explained the situation to everyone, and they all agreed it was a good thing, not only because they had helped someone, but also because they could earn money.

"Lanlan, this is good. Once it's made, we can sell it in the shop. I think it should sell well." Chen Xuan thought about it and agreed that he could put it in his shop to sell later.

"Brother, let's not sell them yet. Let's do this: make several, and you can display them in a prominent place in the shop. Say that for every certain amount of silver spent, one will be given away for free. Say there are ten in total, and once they're all given away, we'll stop. After everyone has used them and thinks they're good, then we can start selling them. The price doesn't need to be too high, nor does it need to be too low. Everyone needs a pillow, and wealthy families can buy quite a few at once, so we'll have business to do." Mo Lan told Chen Xuan her idea.

Chen Xuan thought about it for a moment and thought it was a good idea. First, let everyone understand how effective the product is, and they'll naturally come to buy it. Although it's supposed to be a free gift, there's a minimum purchase amount required to receive it. This restriction will allow his shop to earn significantly more money. It's truly a brilliant method.

"Lan'er, this stuff is made from cattail fluff. To be honest, there are quite a few people who know how to make it. What if others start doing this kind of business too? What will we do then?" Qin Shi thought about it for a long time and raised this question.

“Yes, Lan’er, your aunt is right. If we sell everything, will we still have any business?” Qiu Shi also became worried.

Mo Lan smiled. Following trends is inevitable; there's always something to do with trends.

"Auntie, Mother, tell me, how many pillows can one person in our family make? Even if we hire a few people, how many can they make in a month? How many people are in a large household? How many pillows can they buy at once? We definitely can't keep up with the demand. As for other families making pillows, that's normal. We can't stop them from making pillows. If everyone profits and makes a profit, then people won't be envious of us and won't cause us so much trouble. That way, we can live a more peaceful life." Mo Lan said softly to everyone. Money can't be earned forever; the best thing is to earn money and live a peaceful life.

Everyone pondered her words and realized they made sense. No matter how they made it, they couldn't keep up with the sellers, and even hiring someone else wouldn't help. Others were making money, which was why they weren't too envious of their own business. Otherwise, if they were making money, others would be jealous and cause trouble.

"Mother, let's go to town tomorrow to buy more cloth and some gifts for Dalang. We don't want people to criticize us." Mo Lan decided to go to town.

"Yes, I've given the gift, and I'm at ease. It's strange, though. The third son has disappeared without a trace, so why isn't Cui Shi worried at all? I heard she's living a very happy life. She's spending the money Ju'er gave her like crazy, and she's even bought herself a lot of cosmetics. I wonder who she's dressing up for." Qiu Shi said, puzzled by Cui Shi's actions.

"Yes. You said that since the third son isn't home, she's arranging the eldest son's wedding without waiting for him to come back. It's as if she'd be happier if the third son didn't come back." Liu Shi also looked puzzled.

As Mo Lan ate, she pondered her mother and aunt's words. Her third aunt was indeed as they had said. With her third uncle gone, she wasn't sad at all; on the contrary, she was living a more comfortable life. Why was that? After thinking carefully, Mo Lan roughly understood.

Third Uncle was handsome, and Cui Shi must have liked him very much. Before the family divided their property, although they were poor, Third Uncle had no problems except for his gambling habit, so Cui Shi didn't have to do anything at home. Even if the food wasn't good, she could often go back to her parents' house for a treat, and sometimes she could secretly eat something better. Therefore, she and Third Uncle had a good relationship, and she was devoted to him.

After the family divided their property, all the housework fell on Cui's shoulders. She had no choice but to do it, and resentment was bound to grow in her heart. Her third uncle was never home; he was always out gambling. He squandered all the family's money, borrowed a lot, and even sold the land.

If this continues for a long time, Cui will definitely be dissatisfied, and the third uncle will become increasingly cold, and the family ties will become weaker and weaker, inevitably leading to conflicts and friction between the two.

My third uncle gambled more and more, squandering all the family's money and taking out loans. Last time, he even lost an ear and a finger, making him look rather frightening. He's not as good-looking anymore. I imagine Mrs. Cui is also feeling uncomfortable about it.

The longer it goes on, the greater the friction becomes. Last time, my third uncle lost another two hundred taels. If the gambling house hadn't claimed to have tricked his family into giving them the money, I don't know where that two hundred taels would have come from.

Now that the matter has come to light, her third uncle has run away, and Xue Lingfeng has closed the gambling den. She doesn't need to repay the two hundred taels anymore. Mo Ju is helping to provide the money, so she doesn't need to give it to her third uncle to gamble. She can spend it herself, buy whatever she wants to eat, buy cosmetics and new clothes. How could she not feel comfortable? Not only does she have to serve her husband at home, but he also squanders money and doesn't treat her well. It's better for him not to be at home. She's much more relaxed when she's not at home. So now, Cui Shi is not only not sad, but in a better mood and more relaxed. If she were to marry a wife and have someone to serve her, she would be even more beautiful.

After thinking it over, Mo Lan shook her head and smiled. People are really different. It's understandable that Madam Cui would have such thoughts, since her husband wasn't a good one.

Early the next morning, Mo Lan, Qin Shi, Liu Shi, and Qiu Shi got into an oxcart and went out to shop.

The group first went to a jewelry store and started looking at the jewelry.

The shopkeeper brought out many trays, which contained jade, agate, amber, gold, silver, and all sorts of other things, dazzling the eyes.

Mo Lan also appreciated it; few women dislike jewelry, and beautiful things are pleasing to the eye.

Mo Lan's eyes fell on a pair of earrings, small lilac earrings in reddish gold. They weren't big, just tiny lilac blossoms, very pretty. She asked about the price, and it wasn't too expensive.

Mo Lan negotiated the price with the shopkeeper and bought three pairs at once. She had fifty taels of silver notes in her pocket, a gift from her grandmother. Her grandmother told Mo Lan to spend as much as she wanted; Wang Shi didn't care about the money of her own family. However, the Mo family members weren't the type to squander money.

Mo Lan gave the three pairs of lilac earrings to Qin Shi, Liu Shi, and her own mother Qiu Shi respectively.

The three of them were very surprised, not expecting that Mo Lan had bought them for them. Although the earrings were not big, they were still gold.

"Lan'er, I guess I shouldn't accept it? It's such a waste," Qin Shi declined. Those two were her own mother and aunt, so it was only right for her to give them to them. But she was just her sister's future mother-in-law; it wouldn't be appropriate for her to accept them.

"Auntie, please take this. Consider it my way of trying to please my mother-in-law on behalf of my sister." Mo Lan smiled at Qin Shi and handed it to her, since she was now considered family.

After hearing what Mo Lan said, Qin Shi accepted the idea, saying that treating Mo Mei well after marriage was more important than anything else.

Liu and Qiu did not refuse Lanlan's offer. They accepted it.

Qiu bought a pair of silver earrings, and Liu bought a silver hairpin. They also bought a pair of silver bracelets for the mother-in-law. These were gifts for the new daughter-in-law, not for the second wife. The elders would give these gifts when the new daughter-in-law kowtowed, as a way of acknowledging her as their daughter-in-law.

After they finished shopping, Mo Lan bought a pair of gold earrings for her older sister, Mo Mei. She also bought a pair for her cousin-in-law and a silver longevity lock for her unborn child.

She looked and looked, and then bought a gold ring and a gold band for her grandmother and maternal grandmother, respectively, because the older women both liked these. Now that the family is well-off, buying them the right things would make them proud.

"Lan'er, you don't have one yet? What do you like? I'll buy it for you." When Qiu saw that her daughter had bought things for everyone in the family but not for herself, she grabbed Mo Lan and wouldn't let her leave, making her pick something out for herself as well.

“Yes, whatever Lan’er takes a fancy to, I’ll pay for it,” Qin Shi said.

"I'll buy one for you too. Lan'er, quickly pick one out." Madam Liu also planned to buy one for Mo Lan. Her mother-in-law had given them each some money when they came, telling them to buy whatever they liked. It was their personal savings. She planned to buy things for her family, especially Lan'er; she was the one who most needed one.

"I didn't like any of them, and I don't like wearing these. You can buy them when I get married. I'll buy whatever you buy then. Even if you moved the jewelry store to my house, I'd still want them." Mo Lan laughed as she looked at the three people who were about to take out their money.

"You shameless girl!" Qiu tapped her daughter's forehead. Qin and Liu also laughed heartily; they loved Mo Lan's personality—generous and cheerful, making people feel comfortable.